Olly Williams is a multidisciplinary Art Director working across medium to high budget feature films and high-end television in the UK and internationally. His credits include Bohemian Rhapsody (for Aaron Haye), Silo Season 1 (for Gavin Bocquet), and Ridley Scott’s Gladiator 2 (for Arthur Max). Most recently, he has worked as Senior Art Director for Nigel Phelps and has just finished Eloise at the Plaza (Production Designer: Gemma Jackson, Director: Amy Sherman-Palladino).
With over a decade of experience in the film industry, Olly specialises in the design and delivery of complex sets and props, operating at the intersection of concept, draughting, and fabrication. Alongside his core practice, he has developed a strong interest in the integration of emerging technologies—topically AI-driven workflows—within the art department, exploring how they can augment ideation, visualisation, and production efficiency without displacing the craft and collaboration that underpin the discipline.
Olly is a Core Committee member of the British Film Designers Guild (BFDG), continuing a family legacy—his grandfather, Lawrence P. Williams, was the BFDG’s founding president and Production Designer of David Lean’s Brief Encounter. Through the Guild, Olly is actively involved in mentoring and training emerging talent, as well as contributing to discussions around the future of the department, including the ethical and practical implications of AI in filmmaking.
He has worked extensively in the UK, Malta, Hungary, and beyond, and enjoys the challenge of building art departments in regions with developing production infrastructure. Outside of his department work, Olly is an independent filmmaker, having written multiple feature scripts and directed the multi award-winning Adira’s Dream (2017).
While cautious of the potential impact of AI on established crafts, Olly sees opportunity in its responsible use—particularly in expanding access to high-level visual storytelling tools and enabling new voices within the industry.
In his spare time, he enjoys photography and drawing, including his “sketch a day” project.